Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 05 December 2016

:: National ::

The NITI Aayog will provide incentives to District Collectors for every individual shifting to digital payment mode.
The transactions should be in either of the following forms: unified payment interface, USSD, Aadhaar-enabled payments, digital wallets, debit cards and prepaid cards.
To kick-start the activity, the NITI Aayog will be immediately transferring amounts up to Rs. 5 lakh per district based on population figures, the letter said.
The top ten best performing districts of India will be awarded the Digital Payment Champions of India award and the first 50 panchayats which go cashless will be awarded the Digital Payment Award of Honour by the NITI Aayog.

India’s decision to rapidly develop ports, especially along the east coast, and China’s renewed focus on an expansion of its harbours are resulting in an unintended fusion of the Sagarmala initiative and Beijing’s Maritime Silk Road (MSR).
The conference was co-hosted by the Indian Consulate General in Guangzhou and the local branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).
Unlike India, China is now at the cusp of a second cycle of port-led growth as part of the MSR. An inter-ministerial document on the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, which includes both the land and maritime wings of a massive connectivity plan spanning Asia, Europe and Africa, earmarks some of the lesser-known ports for major expansion.
Apart from Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, the document lists Zhanjiang, Qingdao, Yantai and Dalian, as among the shore-based gateways that are set for a facelift.

The Reserve Bank of India said it will shortly issue new Rs. 20 and Rs. 50 notes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005.
The new notes will bear the signature of RBI Governor Urjit R. Patel, and the year of printing 2016 on the reverse of the banknote.
The central bank clarified that all the notes in the denomination of Rs. 50 and Rs. 20 issued in the past would continue to be legal tender.

The U.S. government and the private sector must cooperate to improve the security of digital networks, a U.S. presidential commission on cybersecurity recommended in a wide-ranging report.
The report urged the U.S. to seek harmonized international cybersecurity policies and global norms of behaviour and sought a “nutritional label” for impartial product safety ratings.
“Technological advancement is outpacing security and will continue to do so unless we change how we approach and implement cybersecurity strategies and practices,” the 100-page report said.